Appointments to the supreme court are a big deal, and I guess veto power.

But congress has MUCH more power than the Executive branch on every issue that people say are important to them. So why do people put more attention into the presidential race as opposed to the senate and house races?

Everytime someone says they'll leave the country if _______ is elected President I just want to slap them because it isn't going to really have that much of an effect on their lives.

11/6/2012 5:08:49 AM

well a Rethug prez could bomb bomb bomb, bomb bomb Iran

also the Prez can stymie the efforts of a Congress in opposition, unless it's an overwhelming majority

still the downballot races are much more important than the news coverage gives credit for, like not even the pollsters (and therefore not even the prediction models) have a good handle on state-legislative races

11/6/2012 6:05:42 AM

No, the President really isn't as powerful as campaign speeches and political media make him out to be.

Everything really just falls on Congress, but its easier for all Americans to point at one highly visible person than for each of our communities to examine our own representatives; easier for big media to focus on one hero/bad guy than spend journalistic effort on local politics.

11/6/2012 9:51:59 AM

Who appoints SC judges again?

V, word. That alone is big enough for me.

[Edited on November 6, 2012 at 10:03 AM. Reason : .]

11/6/2012 9:54:42 AM

- Executive orders are pretty powerful now, and if equal rights are one of your issues its definitely relevant to that
-The President is the commander in chief, which is very huge and important

[Edited on November 6, 2012 at 9:55 AM. Reason : ^read OP's first line]

11/6/2012 9:54:51 AM

I didn't say the President was a weak office. Just answering the OP's question: why does the presidential race get all the attention?

11/6/2012 9:59:04 AM

Because, barring obscene majorities, nothing that congress does gets through without the Presidents approval, and some Presidents can act as rubber stamps for congress, plus the Supreme Court appointments being life terms and the whole "Commander and Chief of the largest military in the history of the planet", all comes out to the President being a pretty big fucking deal.

11/6/2012 10:20:54 AM

Yeah, and there are always the executive orders and all the appointments of bureaucrats to high power positions in organizations like the EPA that have a great deal of power in affecting our daily lives and standard of living (for better and worse).

11/6/2012 1:08:51 PM

I will say I think people overestimate the control of the president over the economy.

Regulation or lack thereof is influential but businesses will always find a way within whatever the current set of rules to either fuck somebody or screw up.

11/6/2012 1:11:53 PM

One major reason the Presidential race gets all the attention is that it's the only election that people from more than one state can vote in, let alone all of them and DC to boot.

11/6/2012 1:25:11 PM

Quote :

"well a Rethug prez could bomb bomb bomb, bomb bomb Iran"

You realize that Obama has been President while drone strikes have increased 5x that which Bush had, right?

11/6/2012 1:29:34 PM

while I don't want to accidentally excuse Obama for illegal drone strikes, ^you do realize that the technology for offensive drones has changed, right?

11/6/2012 2:06:06 PM

I don't see what the big difference is between bombing civilians from 20,000 feet from an air conditioned cockpit, and bombing civilians from 20,000 feet via remote control from an air conditioned office.

11/6/2012 2:20:42 PM

I think the President can have a significant impact on governance through executive orders and control of the military, but he or she is overall limited in how much they can impact the economy.

However, the right person in the White House can make a tremendous impact by influencing national opinion, setting the national agenda and negotiating with Congress. If the President knows how to work Congress, they can indirectly have a lot of influence on the entire process.

11/6/2012 2:41:08 PM

What is the most important thing a president has actually accomplished "on day one"?

11/6/2012 5:44:11 PM

Andrew Jackson ordering someone to clean up the mess his supporters made of the capital?

11/6/2012 5:46:40 PM

William Henry Harrison caught pneumonia on day one of his presidency. Changed the entire course of American history.

11/6/2012 5:51:01 PM

That only counts as an accomplishment if you credit him with preventing future marathon Inauguration speeches.

11/6/2012 5:56:00 PM

^^^^I was about to say the Ledbetter Act but that was "Day 10"

11/6/2012 9:22:56 PM